


A Samurai's New Challenge

by AzureFlare, Rissa_rarity



Category: Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2020-12-13 23:02:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21005612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureFlare/pseuds/AzureFlare, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rissa_rarity/pseuds/Rissa_rarity
Summary: I'm bad at summaries.Jayden is attacked by a Nighlok that ' resets'his powers and changes him into a girl.Now, hiding this from the other rangers except Antonio and Ji, how will he cope?(Also, Mike may or may not have a very overt crush on ' Jade' )





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy ❤
> 
> This is a story topic I saw before, that sadly never took off. 
> 
> I have made some alterations, and I will also be trying my best to provide translations for Antonio's spanish, in brackets.
> 
> I hope you enjoy:)

Jayden was in pain. His head was sore. Everything felt wrong. 

He heard a soft breathing, different from his own. As a samurai, his senses were honed and sharpened to as strong as they could be, and they were coming back online, perhaps too slowly for his liking.

The Red Ranger sat up, and stared. Mike was there, in a chair beside the bed he had been resting in. He smiled slightly, and leaned forward, eyes practically glowing with their usual excitement and somehow relaxed passion. 

'Hey, sleepyhead. How are you feeling? I'm Mike. I found you after my friend went missing from a Ni-monster attack. When we went to see where he was, we only found you. Are you feeling alright? ' he smiled 

Jaiden opened his mouth to respond, and also to ask why Mike was speaking to him as though he was a stranger, when Antonio bursted in.

"Dude! Knock!" Mike glared, gaining an apologetic shrug from Antonio, who then said 

"Hola, Jade, mi hermanita. Estoy tan contenta de que finalmente estés levantada. ¿Estás bien?" 

(Hello, Jade, my little sister. I'm so glad you're finally up. How are you?)

Jayden looked around, surprised when curtain of long, brown hair fell over his eyes, as he flicked it away instinctively. 

He didn't see anyone except Mike, himself and Antonio.

"She's just a little disorientated. " Antonio explained to Mike, who raised an eyebrow, but nodded and stood up, stretching.

"Well, I think I need a shower and some food. Maybe you could come and eat with me, if you feel up to it, Jade" Mike winked at Jayden before leaving the room with his usual relaxed smile. 

Jayden's cheeks burned. What was Mike going on about? He usually had no problem with Mike or his jokes, but if Mike had used a symbol power to lengthen his hair or some other idiotic waste of power, Jayden would shoot him down RIGHT away. 

Symbol power should only ever be used for serious things, so they have as much of it as possible if they need it, not for some silly, two minute prank where he can pretend Jayden's a girl.

The minute the door closed, Antonio was beside him.

"Jayden. I'm sorry about that. But there's something I think you should see" he said.

"Ok?" Jayden said, and was surprised by how strange his voice sounded. He probably needed a drink, but as he went to stand, Antonio shook his head. 

"I really, really wouldn't do that if I were you" he said, looking Jayden dead in the eye. 

Jayden raised an eyebrow, but complied, deciding to just go along with what Antonio wanted, and to have a talk with Mike about wasting symbol power in the future.

A large, full body mirror stood in the room. Jayden slowly stood up, and walked toward it. He felt strange. What had that Nighlok done to him? 

He look in the mirror and nearly fainted. A young woman stared back at him, strong, yet slim and standing at a height of about 5'5, with an hour glass figure. Her eye's were unfamiliar, but blazed with the familiar inner fire of a Shiba.

"Wha-What even happened?" He asked.

Antonio looked nervous.

"You shielded me from the Nighlok. At first I thought ,when I saw a girl passed out on the ground, that you were a civilian who had been effected, and the male you had ran off to fight the nighlok, but when we got back, and Kevin went out to try and find the male you, Mentor Ji pulled me aside and said that the Nighlok that had attacked you was a powerful, and quick, enemy " Antonio gulped the anxiety gnawing at him down and continued

"He had apparently done the same thing to a ranger before, and she, or a he after the Nighlok attacked, lived the rest of her life as a male. But something strange happens. Your symbol power is changed, to. It remains the red symbol power, but it's…it's refreshed. Mentor Ji theorises that because you are no longer in tune with your body, your symbol power is thrown out of balance. So…we couldn't tell the team, because we needed to focus and we can't have them all making a massive deal and it destroying the team and distracting us from our goal. Mentor Ji told them you had gone to study and ancient technique, and I said that this female you was my little sister, and was here because her symbol power had been growing stronger as of recently" he said 

Jayden pursed his lips and glared.

"Antonio. They are our team mates. It was stupid and reckless to lie, as now they will be hurt when I tell them the truth. " he, or rather she, said.

"Jayden. Look. The Nighloks attack was meant for me. If they find out I'm the reason they just lost on of thier biggest, strongest members, because I was being reckless and a show off, and then I convinced Mentor Ji to lie, they will want me out of the team. Please. Play along, even until we can find a cure, for me?" He asked

Jayden glared, and remained silent. Antonio recognised the signs of a Shiba's anger. 

They were tranquil and silent, but a simmering rage etched itself into thier minds and blazed from their eyes, like a roaring flame 

"Please? Do it for old times?" He tried once again.

"…Fine. We play by your rules. For now" Jayden said. She huffed and looked at her shoes.

Antonio's face lit up.

"Oh! Gracias!"he embraced the new girl. Jayden was torn. 

(Oh! Thank you!)

His new form, was so different. His bulging pectorals, were now a bust. His strong biceps, still strong, but now slightly slimmer, more feminine. All of his body hair had vanished, leaving him with only the hair on his head. His clothes, thankfully, had changed with him, and his white shirt and black jeans had remained basically the same, with a few adjustments. 

He sighed and ran a hand over his arm, a trait he always had done, when nervous.

He couldn't have the team freaking out and feeling unsafe. They couldn't know. Lauren was still away training to seal Master Xandred away forever. They couldn't be without thier red ranger. 

He sighed. Mile slipped into her thoughts somehow, but she ignored that, and sighed. 

She stepped outside, Antonio following. Mike was sitting on his iPad on the couch in the living room whilst Mia was cooking and Emily was reading. Kevin was probably outside practicing. 

"Oh! Hey, Jade" smiled Mike, instantly perking up, sitting straighter, warm eyes gleaming at her.

"How are you feeling?" Smiled Emily, as sweet as ever.

"I'm feeling alot better, thank you. Antonio told me about the Nighloks before, but they are so much harder to avoid or fight up close! " he said, earning a sympathetic nod from Emily, and a smile from Mike.

"But I'm sure you gave them the old one two, huh?" grinned Mike " Antonio says you can hold your own really well. You should spar with me sometime" he grinned.

Why was Mike paying such close attention? He acted this way when he was interested in something. Hmm. Jayden had nothing but respect for Mike, and cherished him as a team mate, but Mike really should think more with the head on his shoulders than the one in other places. 

Mike was still grinning at him. Mia meanwhile was heard.

"Dinners almost ready!" She called ,as a large plume of smoke flowed into the room and out the windows.

Jayden, or 'Jade' winced slightly, and was grateful nobody noticed. 

"Mia tries hard, but her cooking can be a …little unique. But she's always trying her best. We try and be nice " Antonio explained, and Jayden nodded. 

He had to act like this was new information, and so made sure to nod and 'Ah' in understanding.

"So. You have your own symbol power? Cool! I'm pretty good with it myself " Mike grinned.

He pulled out his morpher and drew a kanji in midair.

"Samurai Symbol Power, Forest!" He said, and flicked it. Jayden inwardly smiled. Maybe it was a little bit excessive to use symbol power, as Mike should by right preserve it for emergencies, but he had drawn and executed the effects beautifully. He had been practicing. 

A small shower of petals appeared from the Kanji.

"Wow, that's really cool. All I can do is draw. I'm still new to it all, so mine don't really do alot yet" she said 

"You'll get better as you practice " Emily said, smiling " All you have to do is watch us, and be patient. We could even teach you. Kevin is really good with his energy, but he's likely to want to only do it for training. He's really focused and mature about it all" she smiled.

Jaydens heart warmed with pride at how close his team was. He nearly slipped into a smile right then and there, but luckily Mia interrupted, with a cough, holding a large pot of something bubbling and smoking like a fire.

"Dinner's ready" she said, coughing.

Jayden smiled at that. Typical Mia. But he appreciated the effort and would be sure to hold his tounge. Well. His new tounge. He missed being tall. It was so strange having to look up at Mike, whilst standing.

He also knew that this height difference would effect his fighting and sword usage. He would have to train hard to get back to his usual standard. 

That may help the illusion remain, though. 

He was so in depth lost in his thoughts he didn't even see the hand waving infront of him at first. 

"Hey, Earth to Jade. Are you there? It's going…to…get…cold " he said , gesturing to the table, where Antonio, Ji and Emily were already sat and Mia was smiling, heaping a strange mixture in to large bowls.

"Oh, yes. Sorry. It's all just a bit disconcerting. Can't believe I'm eating dinner with the power rangers" 

A sick feeling bubbled up in his chest, at lying this way, but he justified it the same way he had justified keeping Lauren secret. 

It was for their own good. They couldn't risk the rangers learning about the problem, and it causing the team to fail, or become stressed and less efficient. They needed to focus fully if they wanted to seal and defeat Master Xandred

He took a deep breath and relaxed. He walked, and sat beside Emily and Antonio. Ji was at the head of the table, as of the usual respect for the Mentor, and Mike sat across from her, giving her a wink as he pretended to dig in.

Mia smiled at them all, obviously incredibly proud of her concoction.

"So, what do you all think? It's good, isn't it?" She smiled.

They all made noises of agreement, and gave thumbs up, hiding thier disgusted grimaces. Mia tried so hard, but unfortunately cooking just wasn't one of her strengths.

But she was a great Samurai warrior, a heroine and a great woman. She made Jayden proud to be a teammate, so he forced down more bites. They heard the door open, as Kevin entered.

He had decided to patrol, after hearing Mentor Ji and Antonio's explanation of where Jayden was.

"I'm back. Oh, what is that smell?" He asked.

All present at the table, aside from Mia, shared a look and stood up.

"Mia, that was so great, but I'm absolutely full. You and Kevin should enjoy the rest " said Ji, and they all nodded, thanking and complimenting Mia, with Mike sneaking Kevin an apologetic pat on the back, as they all, minus Mia and Kevin, returned to the living room.

This would be interesting.


	2. Understanding.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaydens new form allows him a new insight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to Rissa_Rarity :) 
> 
> She's an amazing beta:D
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

That night, Jayden went into his own room. As he’d expected, none of his clothes fit. Thankfully, Antonio was able convince the others that 'Jade' had been in such a rush, she had left her suitcase at home.

Tomorrow, Mia and Emily were taking her shopping. It was the girls not because of any silly stereotype that the group had, but because this included underwear which Kevin was uncomfortable with looking at on store shelves, never mind purchasing. Mike wasn't coming along because...no. They had all agreed, except him. Just no. Not even if he asks nicely, he proclaimed. Especially not, 'For the good of science, and going where no man has gone before.'

Jayden was anxious. He was used to boxers and socks, not bras and…other things. He shuttered just thinking about it. But, as a samurai, he would take this as a challenge. That was it.

Yeah, that’s a good way to look at it- just a new challenge for him to overcome.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

Ok. Ok. He could do this. He didn't want to, but he could. It was just buying…and wearing…underwear.

It just happened to be ladies underwear. No big deal.

He’d faced bigger problems before, he was the red ranger for goodness sake!

Jayden looked in the mirror- trying to find what he could of his old features that remained though now more feminine.

Ji had to take away his morpher, and the lion zord, until he could become a guy again. He could tell the lion lord the truth, but the morpher was strictly off limits.

He sighed and took the PJs Emily had let him borrow, slipping them on. They were a bit long, as Emily was 5'7 to his 5'5, but they would do.

That night he had a disconcerting dream. Images flashed in his mind, and he woke up in a cold sweat.

He took a few deep breaths and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. He found Kevin there, probably just about to go out for his run.

He turned around, muscles tensed for a second before returning to their usual relaxed form. It wasn't like he wasn't ready, but he knew 'Jade' wasn't an enemy.

"Oh. Hello, Jade. Are you alright? It's only 5 am. I didn't mean to wake you" he said, gently.

"Oh, no, sorry Kevin. You didn't wake me. I'm just a little bit thirsty. Plus, I'm just a bit not used to the bed" he said, smiling, hiding the twinge of guilt the lie caused.

"Ah. Well, enjoy. I'll be back at six. Get some more rest, Jade" he said, before quietly slipped out the front door.

Jayden sighed and took a deep breath. He walked into the living room, missing his longer legs, as he was used to his strides taking him further. He’d never complain about a woman walking slow again- this was tedious.

The Bearzord was on the table. Mike had left it out here? Strange.

Sure, Mike joked around, but he was far from totally irresponsible. What if someone broke in? Sure the alarms would go off, but if a criminal even saw the small, complex robot open up on its own and roar, they could be exposed.

It was only when he heard Mike mutter that he realized he must of just been using the bathroom.

"Ugh. Shouldn't of eaten 5 slices of pizza before bed…Oh! Jade! Hi!" He said, eyes widening as he saw her. His cheeks turned pink as he realized she’d probably heard that.

"Oh. Hi. Sorry, I came out for water and the bearzord was sitting right there so I" Jade stopped when the Zord opened, and growled slightly.

The growl wasn't aggressive, however. It was a welcoming one.

"He likes you" Mike smiled

"And so do I. It must be pretty crazy. Cool, but crazy. I remember when my symbol power first came up. Most kids were running around, riding bikes and playing catch, while I was meditating next to a plant, and drawing symbols in the air. It was pretty crazy. So, if you ever want to talk about it, I'd be happy to listen." Mike’s smile reached his eyes.

Jayden raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Sorry, but from what I heard, it's just that you never really seemed to like to focus or talk about serious stuff. You can focus when you need to, but mostly you like to relax" Jayden said.

"Well, it is true I like to unwind. The world is too stressful and busy sometimes. But…I can talk and be serious too. Being a samurai, being a ranger even, is a wonderful, amazing thing, but it weighs heavily on each of us. I use relaxing as my coping mechanism. Mia uses cooking, Emily plays her flute, Kevin swims and runs, Jayden meditates, and Antonio fishes. My dad always said there's no point in panicking, just to remember that I'm a hero, with all the family and all of our symbol power backing us, but sometimes it get's rough. So I play games, football and joke around."

Jayden was surprised. He had never really thought so much into it. It made perfect sense, and he felt stupid for never noticing it, but it was absolutely true.

"Wow…that's…really impressive that you noticed and understood all of that" he said.

Mike smiled again.

"I'm not really the smartest guy in the world. I'm not like Jayden, or Kevin. But I like to think I know what counts in this world. Besides, you're a samurai in training now. I'm happy to share and talk to you " he said, then winked and added, "Even at 5 am."

They laughed, and Mike smiled, before saying.

"Well. I had better go back to bed, as you should. We have a busy day tomorrow, and we want to make sure we have plenty of rest. I enjoyed talking to you. Night, Jade" he said, and picked up the Bearzord, walking down the hall into his room.

Jayden smiled. Maybe, just maybe, he understood Mike a little bit better now. Maybe he wasn't as purely relaxed as Jayden had thought.

Maybe he should give Mike another chance, and let him make a new impression on 'Jade' , at least until he could return back to being Jayden again.

When he returned to his bed, and closed his eyes to sleep again, Mike was the last thing he thought of.

He might have even smiled a little.


	4. A Job and a chat with Ji

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayden watches the others leave to fight without him, and talks to Ji.

Jayden looked in the mirror, once he was finished dressing- A simple pink sweater with black jeans. He smiled slightly at the memory of actually buying this outfit.

_Emily and Mia had brought Jayden through a multitude of shops. Eventually, Mike had talked them into letting him come, mostly 'Jade', by looking at Jayden with his big, sad eyes. Jayden had held his ground for as long as possible, but he couldn't say no to that face._

_So Mike ended up coming, and was happy to hold the bags for the first few shops. They now formed a stack larger than Mike himself, and he was carrying it very carefully. Jayden supposed it was a side effect of his training, as he managed to keep it balanced, whereas Jayden suspected without a life of samurai training behind him, the bags would have fallen and spilt their contents all over the floor_.

Jayden smiled as he walked into the kitchen. Mike was eating a bowl of cereal, while Emily and Antonio floated around the kitchen cooking something.

If they were cooking, Mia must be busy. After a glance outside, Jayden saw that she was practicing with Kevin outside.

"Hey" He said, smiling at them.

"Hi, sis" Antonio hummed. He had been making a great effort to use that title. To make it seem effortless and like he didn't have to think.

Jayden smiled at him, as the others in the room acknowledged him, murmuring a hi, as Emily was focused on the cooker, and Mike waved- as his mouth was full of cereal.

Jayden smiled. It wasn't as odd as he thought it was going to be. Sure, it was strange, and literally the opposite of what he was used to. But he supposed that it wasn't the worst thing ever, being Jade for a little while.

The gap sensor suddenly went off, and the team instantly nodded to each other.

"Everyone. Moogers are harassing people near the school. There are children present, so you need to head out immediately. " Mentor Ji says.

Emily turned the cooker off with surprising speed, and Mike set down his bowl.

"Wish us luck" He said, and dashed out after the others.

Jayden felt a pang of sadness, at not being able to go with his team, and another memory of shopping hit him.

_"-and that's why we always pick up extra duct tape" Emily finished, and Mike, Jayden and Mia laughed._

_"You know, I think you'd like Jayden. I can't wait to see you meet each other! " Mia said._

_Jayden choked on his tea. Oh. That would be a very difficult thing to arrange. But he couldn't say that, and instead nodded, clearing his throat._

_"That would certainly be interesting." he said._

_Not a lie. Someone meeting an opposite gender version of themselves would be interesting._

Ji frowned. Jayden was clearly upset, but hid it well. The mentor was sure that hiding everything from his team must be putting a strain on the young ma- young woman, he supposed.

However, he had also noticed how Mike had been acting and was pleasantly surprised. Mike's passion had hit an all time high. He was getting noticeably better. He was more excited to do training activities, and whilst he still showed off, it was integrated into his actual attack and defend pattern nicely.

Jade was a very good influence on Mike, and whilst he wasn't sure how Jayden felt, perhaps Mike crushing on him, or her, would open both of their minds.

Whilst Jayden wasn't homophobic, he was likely to not appreciate the advanced openly, but Ji knew, from how he had watched Antonio and Jayden when they were young, that Jayden at least felt some romantic affection toward males. This body may just help him improve that, as it attracted a very good male to him like a moth to a flame.

Mike was strong, but he also was disobedient. He fought for the world in which humans are free, to live and exist without fear of nighloks attacking them. Jayden, on the other hand, whilst fighting for that as the big picture, fought mostly in the name of his father and everything he believed in.

Ji sighed.

If only the world was a simpler place. He cherished the young samurais. Each had quirks and traits solely their own- he admired that. They were one of the best groups of people he had ever met, and he was honoured to mentor them.

He walked over to Jayden.

"Jayden, I know this must be difficult. Perhaps you can distract yourself by practicing symbol power?” he suggested.

This would serve as a distraction, and a way for Jayden to understand this new body’s symbol power better. Jayden nodded, and walked to the practice canvas.

With great care, he meticulously painted the fire symbol, and looked at it.

For a second it just remained as normal paper before the sheet it was on burst into flames, seemingly contained to that page. It was a sign of the care taken it didn't combust the entire canvas.

Jayden paled. That had been far too draining. He couldn't do another one. He had tried his usual way: _Don't imagine fire as a destructive force. Think of it as an extension of yourself, as a tool to clear a path and allow room for new growth._

But it had failed. He couldn't realistically use his symbol power more than once, without dropping from exhaustion.

He took a few deep breaths and sat down. Ji pat the young samurai on the back, sympathetically.

"It may be hard now Jayden. But perhaps it is a blessing. You can explore aspects of life you had no idea existed until now.”

Jayden nodded, but was unsure what the mentor meant.

But, as they heard the others walk in, looking tired but unharmed, that conversation stopped for now.


End file.
